Bed



July 22, 1969 I J. 0 BLACK 3,456,267

BED

Filed NOV. 50, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

i fihfli/M? July 22, 1969 J. 0. BLACK 3,456,267

wave

United States Patent 3,456,267 BED John 0. Black, 18094 Parkside, Detroit, Mich. 48221 Filed Nov. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 686,949 Int. Cl. A47c 17/04 US. C]. -8 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A bed assembly which may be converted to a couch through the use of floor mounted guide channels pivotally and slidably connected to a support leg of the assembly. The assembly in one position forms side-by-side double or twin beds with matching headboards, with the beds capable of being rotated to a second position forming a couch with the headboards acting as the backrest for the couch. To facilitate the pivotal movement of the beds there is a telescopic connection provided by channeled guide means which cooperate with one support leg of each of the beds to enable the beds to be rotated and moved laterally from one position to the other.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS Reference is here made to applicants copending US. patent application Ser. No. 686,950, entitled Bed, filed concurrently herewith on Nov. 30, 1967.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention broadly relates to a bed assembly and more particularly to a convertible bed-couch assembly having at least two portions that may be free swung from a bed position to a couch position or vice versa.

State of the prior art relating to this invention is indicated by my issued US. Patent 3,325,830. Although the structure shown in that patent provides a very convenient operation, there is no headboard which can be used when the bed is in either of two positions, and which acts as a backrest if the bed is attempted for use as a couch.

Accordingly, a principal object of this invention is to provide an improved bed assembly.

A further object is a bed assembly having pivotal and laterally movable portions adaptable to form a couch with a backrest, or side-by-side beds with headboards.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein like numerals denote like elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a bed assembly embodying this invention, showing the bed portions in their position to function as a couch;

FIGURE 2 is a front view taken along the line 2-2 of the bed-couch assembly of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG.

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the assembly of FIG. 1 in couch position;

FIGURE 5 is also a top plan view of the couch assembly as shown in FIG. 4, but with one of the 'bed portions partially pivoted outwardly to show the transition which occurs in converting the assembly from a couch to a set of beds; and

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of the assembly converted into a position suitable for use as a double or twin bed arrangement.

"ice

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Broadly stated, the present invention comprises: a first mattress supporting portion, means supporting said first portion upon a floor, at least one other mattress supporting portion, means supporting said other portion upon a floor, means operable to function as a backrest when the assembly is in a couch position and to function as a headboard when the assembly is in a side-by-side position, track means positioned on the floor for guiding rotational and lateral movement of the portions between positions, means positioned on each said portions for cooperating with the track means and operable to regulate lateral and rotational movement relative thereto.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now in detail to the drawings, a bed assembly embodying this invention is identified generally by the reference numeral 11. The bed assembly 11 comprises two bed portions 13 and 15 which have supporting frames 14 and 16 respectively. Each of the frames 14 and 16 support mattresses 17 and 18, respectively, The frames are supported for rolling movement on casters such as shown at 19.

The assembly also comprises twin support members 30 and 32 which have cushion members 33 on the one side thereof to act as a backrest member when the assembly is in the couch position or to act as headboard members when the assembly is moved into bed positions.

FIGURES 2 and 3 show a channeled guide means or telescoping means designated 40, generally floor mounted beneath each of the corresponding bed frames 14 and 16, with the only difference between the channeled guide means associated with each of the frames being a difference of right and left hand orientation.

The channeled guide means 40 is comprised of a back and forth sliding member 41 which follows the guid path established by the channel 43 within the guide means 40. As can be seen the slide member 41 is attached to the bed by the member 45 to in effect act as one support leg for the bed. The channel member 43 is stationarily positioned on the floor by any suitable means and the member 41 acts as a ball joint member within the channel 43 such that the bed 15 can be either rotated about the member 41 as a pivot point or the member 41, after the bed is rotated, can be moved in a lateral direction such that the corner generally above the member 41 can be slid either inwardly or outwardly when the assembly is converted from a couch to a bed, or vice versa.

FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 show the assembly in transition from a couch position in FIGURE 5 to a double bed or twin bed arrangement position as shown in FIGURE 6.

In order to rotate the couch as shown in FIGURE 5, the procedure is as follows, and the procedure applies to rotating either or both of the frames 14 and 16 into a bed position simultaneously or consecutively.

The end 60 of the couch is manually moved in the direction of the arrows 62, and the end 60 will free roll on its casters 19. Such movement of the bed 15 causes it to rotate about the rotation point formed by the member 41 functioning generally as a ball socket. As soon as the bed is rotated substantially to the position shown by the dotted lines indicating the bed 15a (FIGURE 7), then the necessary rotation is essentially complete and the bed is pushed inwardly toward the headboard 32. Inward movement of the bed 15a toward the headboard 32 is guided and controlled by the channeled guide means 40 such that the member 41 slides within the channel 43.

Inward movement of the bed is stopped when the member 41 reaches the end limit of its travel within the channel 43, that is, when it reaches the end designated 70 most clearly illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 4, As will be obvious from the drawings, rotation of the bed 15 from a couch position into a twin bed position or double bed position, as shown in FIGURE 7, may also be carried out in the manner such that rotation and inward movement of the bed toward the headboard 32 occur somewhat simultaneously and this is limited only by the fact that the corner 66 (FIGURE 5) must only be free and clear of the lower headboard member 67 before it is attempted to initiate inward pushing of the bed toward the headboard 32.

An additional feature of the invention is shown most clearly in FIGURES 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. When the bed 15 as shown in FIGURE 7 is pulled away from the headboard to a position indicated by the dotted line designation of the bed 15a and then rotated counterclockwise to turn the bed 15 to a couch position, the caster or wheel 90 in moving back to the position it assumes when the bed 15 is in couch position eventually contacts the raised stationary member 72 which projects upwardly from the floor to function as a stop member and to prevent the bed 15 from rotating further. The raised member 72 also acts to position the bed in its couch position relative to the headboard 32.

While it will be apparent that the preferred embodiments of the invention disclosed are well calculated to fulfill the objects stated, it will be appreciated that the invention is susceptible to modification.

What is claimed is:

1. A bed and/or couch assembly comprising a first cushion supporting portion,

means supporting said first portion upon a floor,

at least one other cushion supporting portion,

means supporting said other portion upon a floor,

means operable to function as a backrest when the as sembly is in one position, and as a headboard when the assembly is in a side-by-side position,

a pair of track means positioned on the floor for guiding rotational and lateral movement of the portions when it is desired to change relative positioning of the portions,

a pair of slide members positioned on each said portions for cooperating with the track means and operable to regulate lateral and rotational movement relative thereto,

said slide members being slidably connected to the track means for guiding the assembly in conversion from a first position to a second position,

said pair of track means consisting of two parallel guide channels which are in perpendicular relationship relative to the headboard and backrest,

said two guide channels each containing a raised stationary portion means which project upwardly from the floor to function as a stop member and acting to position the bed in a couch position relative to the backrest of the couch,

said two guide channels each being of a width substantially equal to the width of the bed,

each said raised stationary portion means being contacted by a free rolling caster of the bed when the assembly is converted into a couch.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,691,174 10/1954 Harrison 5-8 X 2,784,404 3/ 1957 Shankman 5-20 3,049,723 8/ 1962 Thierfelder 5-8 3,331,086 7/1967 Hopkins 5-8 CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

